The landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, supported by more than 190 countries, showed the international community's resolve to address this global commons challenge.

Despite the pandemic, 2020 witnessed numerous climate change commitments by governments, corporations and financial institutions. These include major carbon neutral commitments from China, the EU, Japan, South Korea and Canada, and the US rejoining the Paris Agreement.

A growing number of corporations are implementing net-zero commitments to demonstrate their preparedness to operate in a low-carbon future economy and contribute solutions to the economic transformation required. Similarly, investors are integrating climate risk assessment into investment processes and committing to decarbonise their asset portfolios.

The stage is set to translate long-term ambitions into tangible policies and action.

Countries covering 63% of global GHG emissions with net-zero ambitionsUnited Nations Environment Programme (2020). Emissions Gap Report 2020 – Executive Summary. Nairobi.

Companies with commitments to reduce emissions under the Science Based Targets Initiative

 

Investors that are part of Climate Action 100+ who engage the world’s largest corporate emitters

 

Significant projects supported by the FSTI last year include:

• The set-up of four regional cybersecurity hubs under the Cybersecurity Capability Grant ;
• The fifth phase of Project Ubin , which successfully developed a blockchain-based prototype enabling multi-currency payments to be carried out on the same network;
• A prototype for an industry-wide FinTech Research Platform , to connect promising FinTechs with investors and financial institutions; and
• Sponsorship of 31 FinTech awards at the Singapore FinTech Festival X SWITCH 2019 , to promote and support the use of innovative FinTech solutions.

• Debt capital market: MAS supported 19 new bond and insurance-linked securities issuances through schemes such as the Global-Asia Bond Grant Scheme In January 2020, MAS announced the expansion of the Asian Bond Grant Scheme to cover all issuers with an Asian nexus, and renamed the scheme as the Global-Asia Bond Grant scheme., Sustainability Bond Grant Scheme , SGD Credit Rating Grant Scheme , and the Insurance-Linked Securities Grant Scheme .
• Equity capital market: The Grant for Equity Market Singapore was launched in February 2019 to enhance Singapore’s role as an enterprise financing hub. Since then, the scheme has supported nine listings on SGX and eleven research houses in enhancing research capabilities and developing research talent.
• Foreign exchange market: The Foreign Exchange E-Trading Ecosystem Grant Scheme supported four liquidity providers to set up pricing and trading engines during the year. The scheme aims to build an FX e-trading ecosystem in Singapore through anchoring primary inter-dealer platforms and multi-dealer platforms to set up matching engines, as well as liquidity providers and liquidity takers to generate flows.
• Fund Domiciliation: MAS launched the Variable Capital Companies (VCC) Grant Scheme in January 2020 to encourage early adoption by fund managers to incorporate or re-domicile their investment funds in Singapore. A critical mass of early adopters will help entrench Singapore’s status as a global fund management hub. As of 31 March 2020, 36 VCCs have been registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.